NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer found it a fair to say that ideas have changed regarding acceptable racing contact, before admitting the sport needs to learn from what happened on Sunday night at Richmond Raceway.
Those that need to learn are not NASCAR. The sanctioning body instead finds itself at a defining moment in its history where the reins need to be pulled back in on the garage.
Austin Dillon had a win-at-all-costs mentality on the final lap, which resulted in wrecked race cars for Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. As Sawyer reminded everyone, NASCAR is a contact sport, and it was within Dillon’s right to use his front bumper. But if the first contact with Logano was understandably aggressive – but perhaps not liked – it was also arguably within the lines of many previous incidents. The second contact, a right rear hook of Hamlin, should be considered intolerable.
Sawyer described the chain of events as close to crossing the line. NASCAR will dig into all available data – audio, video and SMT – concerning the finish, and any reaction will come this week. It would serve NASCAR’s best interest to have the last word in the matter, and that final word needs to be strong.
A former competitor himself, Sawyer already gave the correct analysis that needs to be put into action: “Racing in the era that we race in today and the way our young kids are coming up racing at short tracks, we want to make sure that the highest level of racing, which is NASCAR Cup Series, is done at the highest level and it’s done with the utmost integrity and sportsmanship and that’s what we’re about. So, we’ll see if we need to adjust accordingly going forward.”
Highest level. Integrity. Sportsmanship.
The finish at Richmond didn’t seem to strike those chords. It was less competition or craft, and more destruction and deflection to the system. Perhaps drivers have become too comfortable feeling that way, since the reward seems to outweigh the risk of being punished more often than not.
“My parents used to say if you want to sit at the adult table, you have to act like an adult, and we just don’t as a sport sometimes,” Hamlin opined. “It’s frustrating as someone who has been doing this so long to see where we’ve come [from]. I’ll just bitch and complain my last few years, but this is just crazy.”
Hamlin also had plenty to say about there being “no real officiating” in favor what he perceives to be an embrace of the chaos and headlines. As famed wrestling promoter and personality Eric Bischoff titled his autobiography, controversy creates cash. Except, Hamlin knows there are rules in place to prevent, as he described, “ridiculous acts” that rarely get enforced. Then, when they do, such as Layne Riggs being made an example of in a Craftsman Truck Series race earlier this year with a two-lap penalty for reckless driving, they seem questionable compared to what others got away with.
Yet, hooking someone in the right rear has been the most consistent call NASCAR has made over the last two years, with suspensions for drivers like Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott. Following its review, an explanation is owed by NASCAR as to why what Dillon did was or was not different.
NASCAR is not immune to criticism for being more entertainment than competition. Some will not let it outrun comments from former executives about “boys, have at it,” even if the context around that time has long been forgotten. Or there are those quick to point out that one of the sport’s most revered figures will always be known – whether rightly or wrongly – as having made a career of using the front bumper of his black No. 3 Chevrolet.
All of those comments can be true, but it is simultaneously true that things have to change. And as long as the course is corrected, it’s OK to be in this position. Sometimes, harsh reminders by those in charge are necessary about what is expected of its competitors because the sport’s reputation has become one headline too many.
“I’m not really sure what to say about that,” Logano’s crew chief Paul Wolfe told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “It’s as far from racing as you can get, and it’s really disappointing that NASCAR allows stuff like that to go on. I don’t know what else to say.”
Wolfe, understandably, got more animated as the conversation continued and his comments more pointed. It might have been Wolfe’s voice, but it was the thoughts of many.
“That wasn’t a racing incident,” Wolfe said. “Anyone can see that. So, I guess what I’m asking NASCAR is: What have we gotten to? Is this not racing anymore? At some point, we’re going to have to not turn into a circus here.
“I get it. We want stories. We want cars that don’t run good in the playoffs. But, gosh, we’re still racing here and when we lose sight of that, I don’t know what we’re doing anymore.
“So it’s very frustrating that all the time and effort and all our sponsors and everyone puts into this, and then it turns into that on the last lap. I don’t know what we’re doing, and it’s hard to understand. That was not a racing incident, racing hard for a win. There’s a difference and everyone in this garage can look at that and know that’s not what just happened.
“This is up to NASCAR to do the right thing. At some point, we’re going to have to make the call of what’s acceptable and not and just flat-out wrecking someone is not racing. So are we a racing series or what are we? If we’re not a racing series, then we need to let everyone know we’re not racing anymore because that was not racing.”
While it is not new that the garage is calling for NASCAR to take action on a particular situation, there has been an escalation in frustration in recent years about the code of conduct on the racetrack. It has grown from rivalries and retaliation to how a race winner is decided, reaching and staining the sport’s highest level.
The time has come for NASCAR to do some cleaning up.